Sacramento, CA – It's
happened to anyone who lives in Southern California. A late-night
accident or mysterious slowing clogs the rightmost freeway lanes, while the
carpool lane sits empty. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has
introduced Assembly Bill 405, a measure that will create a pilot program of
sorts to ease such traffic congestion by permitting single-occupancy vehicles
to access the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes (also known as carpool lanes)
on State Highway Route 134, during non-peak hours.

A recent CalTrans report indicated
that Southern California’s HOV lanes are not being utilized to capacity during
non-peak hours, leaving single-passenger vehicles idling in slow-going or
stand-still lanes. Unlike Northern California, where HOV lane
restrictions are in place only during peak commute hours, HOV lanes in Southern
California, including those on the 134 Freeway, are restricted on a 24-hour
basis.

Gatto explained that “carpool lanes
are intended to increase the capacities of our freeways, reward those who
carpool during rush hour, and protect the surrounding environment from
harmful exhaust. When motorists are stuck in bumper-to-bumper
traffic at midnight while carpool lanes sit empty, none of those goals are
being met. It just doesn't make sense.”

Gatto’s measure would require
Caltrans to allow single-passenger vehicles to access the HOV lanes on a five
mile stretch of the 134 Freeway between the 170 Freeway and Interstate 5 during
non-peak hours.

“The current restriction of HOV lanes
to only high-occupancy vehicles or to those who can afford high-efficiency
vehicles is an ineffective way to operate these lanes outside of rush hour,”
said Gatto. “California’s highway system needs to remain flexible,
especially in areas where people drive the freeways at all times.”

Many
commuters along the 134 corridor, which links the 101 Freeway to Pasadena and
beyond, do not work traditional hours.

Gatto is also overseeing an effort
with state and local agencies to investigate ways to address administratively
the underutilization of HOV lanes in the region.

“Traffic congestion is almost always
bad during rush hour; it need not be bad all night long,” said Gatto.

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the
Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly. He represents
the cities of Burbank, Glendale, La Canada Flintridge, the Los Angeles
neighborhoods of Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, and portions of the
Hollywood Hills and East Hollywood. www.asm.ca.gov/gatto